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Thursday, May 28, 2009

Marion Bartoli was not pleased with anything after losing her second round match in Paris today.

The Frenchie was frustrated by the heavy conditions, her health and the tricky play/cheering squad of Tathiana Garbin and fell 3-6, 5-7 to her Italian conqueror. Bart was sure to let the media have it in her post-match presser:

Q. You didn't really feel good physically? You were like all white in the face when you hold? What's happened?

MARION BARTOLI: Well, I was a bit tired. A bit sick, I think, as well. So it was not easy. It was so cold out there. Really cold on the court.

I was not really fit,that's true. The conditions were notreally good for me. It was really hard.

Q. What about the incredible number of break points?

MB: Well, you know, the court was really heavy. The balls were heavy. My serve was not okay at all. I couldn't hit the balls correctly, either. So I wanted to fight back as well as I could,but that was not sufficient.

The way she played, her attitude was getting on my nerves, so I had to calm down. It was not easy. She would always return all the balls, all the points. I was not hitting strongly enough. The surface was really slow.

There was a lot of clay under my feet. It was a bit heavy. 15 degrees. It's not the best conditions.

Q. You said difficult conditions. What do you mean by this?

MB: What?

Q. You said her attitude was a bit strange. What do you mean by this?

MB: Well, it's her clan. When I made unforced errors, her team would shout. It's not sportslike. They're Italians.

Q. You're Italian too. Your grandfather, as well, is Italian.

MB: I'm from Corsica.

I knew her on a faster surface, like on hardcourts. At the beginning of the match it was not the same type of match. But this time it was the slowest surface on earth, so to her advantage.

Q. What about her shouting all the time?

MB: She does that all the time. I do it, as well. Last time when I played against her, youknow, I didn't care.

This time, it's mainly the conditions that were really not good. It was so cold, freezing out there. The balls were stuck on the strings of the racquet, so that's why there were many break points, and the ball was too slow. It was not to my benefit. It was never something I could do well, you know, to hit the ball and to have many moon balls.

I thought, you know, I could hit as strong as I could. I couldn't have winning points. It was not, therefore, easy for me to get into my game.

Q. You said you thought you were sick. What do you think you have?

MB: Well, it's like a bit of a sore throat, and my nose is running. It was cold. It was very warm on Monday when I played, and then cold for two days in a row.

So I think it's the temperature change, and also a bit of tiredness.

Q. You had invested a lot on this tournament. So what do you feel today, just off the courts?

MB: Well, of course now I'm disappointed. I was very much involved. I had trained a lot and practiced for a very long week before, and fortunately this was not rewarding. Not the way I wanted, in any case, but this is the way it is. That's sports.

You can try and do your best before the tournament. You can try and practice as best as you can. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't. This is the way it is. It's life.

Q. You said you couldn't hit your balls, and you wanted to strike stronger and stronger. You made more mistakes?

MB: Yes, the ball, I tried to strike really strongly, and then it went off the court immediately. You know, I couldn't feel anything today. I couldn't feel my racquet. When I play well, this would never happen to me.

Everything was tough. Her game was not good enough. There was no pace in her game, so I had to hit more strongly, more strongly, and this is it. I was off‑pace. I started this match correctly, and then there was a long period of time when I couldn't feel anything. And then during the second set, I wanted to be back into the game, but it was too late.

Q. What next, then, for you?

MB: I think there's something called Wimbledon next, so I'll try and get ready for grass. This is it. I'll practice again. That's the only thing I can do.

Q. Maybe you will not really like my question, but don't you think that it's something else that has to be changed when you contemplate a new tournament? It's time for a turnaround for you.